Two Poems, Jon Hanna.

“It happens to men too, you know”

Said the angry guy,

playing devil’s advocate

for a devil that had mostly done things to women.

I clung to my sisters,

who’d cared for me,

and raged with me,

and fought for me,

when it happened to men too.

We Removed Something You Posted

We Removed Something You Posted
Your tone was strident. Your pain was raw.
It disturbed people we prefer comfortable.

We Removed Something You Posted
You showed your body. Your own body.
You were happy with it. You shouldn’t be.
You were unhappy with it. Then hide it.

We Removed Something You Posted
A breast not beside a product.
A breast not made into a product.
That’s obscene.

We Removed Something You Posted
You used your real name. So we removed it all.

We Removed Something You Posted
Your face after you were beaten.
Your heart after you were raped.
That’s violent.

We’ve reviewed the post that said they want you dead.
We’ve reviewed the post that said you should be raped
If only you weren’t too ugly to rape.
We’ve reviewed the sexual imagery you never asked for.
We’ve reviewed the mocking of your murdered brothers and sisters.
This did not violate our community standards.
How did you find this experience?

Jon Hanna (1976-2019) was an Irish poet, writer, and member of the witchcraft community. As he described himself— he only wrote “things people want to publish by accident and never [wrote] poems. Jon is a Feminist ally who is critical of the concept of ‘Feminist ally.’”